Another link to a good post about a station in Japan

sleepytako writes posts that I consistently like. In particular, he has written a beautiful post about the station at the end of the Nishi-Shigi cable car line at http://sleepytako.blogspot.com/2010/05/above-osaka-shigisan.html.

I hope that all of my readers will click on the link. sleepytako expresses a very Japanese way of feeling in a way that is accessible to people who have never been to Japan.

More on Taiwan

Click the link for a photo guide from one of my Multiply Buddies about how to take the metro in Taipei, Taiwan.

台北: Riding the MRT

The Daejeon subway also uses round tokens. It is kind of weird putting a coin on a subway.

Taiwan's High Speed Line Sees Increase in Ridership Since Public Takeover

Recently someone forwarded an interesting press release from Taiwan's main news agency to a rail-oriented Yahoo group that I belong to. Apprently, the past year has been the best ever for ridership on Taiwan's high speed line. Currently, the one line serves 3 million passengers a year.

What is interesting about this is that the line has basically been nationalized over the past year. Previously, the private owners were constantly complaining that they couldn't make any money. That ticket sales and other sources of revenue only covered 97% of their operational costs.

The fact is that for a piece of infrastructure to cover 97% of its own costs is unusual. Roads and airports in particular require massive subsidies.

So various government entities allowed private interests to abandon the line to them, and then they lowered prices. Because it is always less of a subsidy for people to take the train than for them to drive. Or fly. And with the volume this line gets, it is less of a subsidy than if those people took the bus.

And of course now that they don't have to make a profit, the line is considered wildly successful.

Shanghai Metro - longest in the world?

Currently, Shanghai claims that with the opening of line 10 last month, Shanghai Metro became the longest such system in the world.

Of course, that depends on what counts toward that total.

Not including portions run by Korail and Incheon Subway, Seoul's Metropolitan Subway system runs 314 km. However, that is counting some track that runs outside of the boundaries of the city of Seoul, and does not include some that is actually within the city's boundaries. So 314 km is too short. Counting every line that could possibly be considered part of the system, the subway is 755 km long. Of course, that ends up trips that never even enter the province where Seoul is located and that are between towns of less than 100,000.

So Shanghai runs a lot of trains that I hear are clean and fast, and you can probably go anywhere you might want to on them. But not necessarily any better than in, say, Paris, which strictly defines what is the metro and what are the suburban commuter trains.

(Also, the maglev to the airport is cool, but very few people take it because the maglev is more expensive than some airplane tickets and the ordinary subway is fast and comfortable enough for most people.)

Opera in Daegu

Currently, Korail has a scroll on its Korean site to remind riders that they can take the train to Daegu's Opera House. Daegu is famous for its opera festival and for its Italian-style opera house.

The opera house is less than a thirty minute walk from Daegu Station, but it is probably quicker to take the subway. You are also less likely to get lost. The Daegu Opera House stop is clearly marked in both English and Korean.

It is definitely quicker to take the subway if you are coming in on the KTX. The KTX stops at East Daegu Station (Dong Daegu) which as the name implies is in the eastern part of town.

(Hopefully, an entry on Dong-Daegu Station is coming soon.)